Girl Next Door Syndrome
by FuutaxFran ULTIMATE CRACK PAIR
Summary: Ironic, how the boy with the pain deficiency and the seemingly frozen heart was sensitive and had an inferiority complex. To be jealous of her was just too easy but, slowly, he'll learn maybe it's just easier than loving himself. Pairings implied,OOC,OCs.


Me: I don't own anything.

Summary: It was ironic how the seemingly cold hearted boy with a pain deficiency and a sharp tongue was a sensitive little thing with an inferiority complex at the same time. They supposed that it wasn't that surprising though. At certain times, even they felt a tiny bit jealous of her.

* * *

There he was again, maneuvering the soccer ball between his feet skillfully. There she was again, watching him with bright, love filled eyes. There Fran was again, sitting underneath a tree, wanting to gag. 'He' was Fuuta, the boy Fran was infatuated with. 'She' was Uni, the perfect girl. And 'Fran' was Fran, the ten-year-old boy that burned inwardly with jealousy and self-hate. '_This sucks._' he thought for fifth time that week as Fuuta kicked the soccer ball toward the makeshift goal he and his brothers set up with twigs and branches. Yamamoto Takeshi, one of Fuuta's older brother's best friends, couldn't block the ball and it went in, a point for Fuuta's team.

"You're really good at this, kid." Yamamoto praised, patting Fuuta's head and laughing. "You really think so?" Fuuta asked, beaming up at Yamamoto. Yamamoto nodded, shining his signature smile down on Fuuta. "If you keep practicing, you could probably make the soccer team in middle school." he said, optimistically. "And, who know? Maybe you'll make the pros." Fuuta's face lit up before a creepy chuckle filled the air, a chuckle Fran was used to and familiar with. "Kufufu, don't make me laugh." Rokudo Mukuro, Fran's older brother and another one of Fuuta's older brother's best friends, laughed. He sauntered over and bent down to Fuuta's level. "It would take a miracle for you to go pro, do you know how many people get rejected every year that are said to be the 'best of the best'?"

Yamamoto frowned slightly. "Mukuro, that's kind of a mean thing to say to a little kid." he said gently. Mukuro smirked and stood up straight, looking Yamamoto in the eye. "I'm simply saying he shouldn't get his hopes up, it will only lead to disappointment." Mukuro responded smoothly. "It's like how I remind Fran that he may not become a famous guitar player. I'm only trying to keep him from feeling the cold sting of disappointment." Yamamoto furrowed his eyebrows. "I think it's better to support a kid's dream instead." a new voice said. Yamamoto and Mukuro turned to see Fuuta's older brother, Sawada Tsunayoshi or 'Tsuna', standing beside them. "Maybe you should be kinder to Fran, Mukuro, then he might be a little…_gentler _with his words." Tsuna said, referring to the fact that Fran's favorite pastime was to verbally assault anything and everyone.

"I think I'm kind enough." Mukuro replied, straightening his jacket. "And I'll thank you not to interfere with how I raise my brother." Tsuna smiled. "And I'll thank _you_ not to dump on _my _brother's hopes and dreams." he countered. "Fair enough." Mukuro agreed. Tsuna nodded before his smile became less serious and the air surrounding the two got less tense. "Okay then, hey, Gokudera-kun and I found this ice cream shop we can bring the kids to." he said, with childish excitement. "It has a whole bunch of weird flavors, one of them is pizza." Uni, having walked over from her spot on the porch, looked at him curiously. "Pizza ice cream?" she asked, tilting her head cutely. "Yeah, it's, like, supposed to have tomato and cheese and all kinds of stuff in vanilla ice cream." Tsuna explained. Mukuro's nose wrinkled slightly. "Why on _Earth _would anyone want that?" he asked, clearly disgusted.

Tsuna only shrugged. "I don't know but they have it." he said. "Do you and Fran want to go with us?" Fuuta, not too discreetly, kicked Tsuna in the shin, making him squeak in pain. Tsuna glared at Fuuta and snapped, "Why'd you do that?" Fran wondered why Tsuna bothered asking, it was obvious since it this happened every time Tsuna invited Fran and Mukuro anywhere. Fran just _knew _Fuuta hated him, he simply didn't know the reason. He honestly hated done anything to Fuuta and didn't plan on doing anything in the future. "I don't want _him_ to come." Fuuta hissed. "Well I invited both of them so you're gonna have to tough it out." Tsuna replied before turning to Mukuro with a smile. "What do you say? Do you guys want to come?" Mukuro glanced at Fran and Fran immediately shook his head 'no'.

"Thank you for the offer, but Fran and I must get going home now." he answered. "Fran has homework to do, you see, but I believe Chrome's free at the moment. I'll tell her to meet you there if you give me the address." Tsuna nodded, wearing a disappointed look that matched Fuuta's, and sent the address to Mukuro's cell phone. Mukuro thanked Tsuna for having them over and he and Fran started walking for the backyard's gate. On their way out, Fran glanced back to see Uni linking arms with Fuuta, asking him what he was going to try at the shop with an ever charming smile on her face. "Don't look back." Mukuro said, knowingly. "It will only make it worse." Fran's eyes returned to look forward. "Why is it that some people get everything they want and have perfect lives and other people don't get what they want the most and have to live in misery?" he asked, voice as cold and monotone as ever. Mukuro looked up at the sky. "Some people, the ones with 'perfect' lives, will soon realize that their life is boring and will either except the fact they've never truly earned anything in their lives or will hate it and will try and change that." he said before turning towards Fran. "Other people, the ones like you and I, are truly the ones with perfect lives, we simply don't realize it since we're too busy creating it, bit by bit."

* * *

Four years later, Fran still burned with the same self-hatred and jealousy as before, only now he didn't have to feel it every day. Once he graduated from Namimori Elementary alongside Fuuta and Uni, he decided to go to Kokuyo Middle School instead of Namimori so he wouldn't constantly feel inferior to Uni, Namimori Middle School's idol, and to escape Fuuta's hatred of him. It was a pain to have to get up early just to board the train to get to school, but Fran believed it was well worth it. Leaving home early and coming home late every day was a plus in Fran's eyes anyways, seeing as it gave him an excuse most of the time to not join Mukuro and Chrome, his older sister, to the Sawada residence. "Fran-chan, we're going to Tsuna-san's house today." Yes, it gave him an excuse not to go _most _of the time.

Fran looked up at Chrome from his place lying on the floor. "I can't, I have a lot of homework." he said, motioning to the open books and notebook paper on the floor beside him. "And I have a test tomorrow in first period that I can't be late for." Chrome scanned the work on the floor before picking up a book and a paper off the floor. "You've already done the work in this book." she said, placing the paper in the book and snapping it closed before scanning the rest of the work. "This book too. Oh, and this one. This one too." It wasn't long before all the books and papers were stacked into one, neat pile. "I still have to study for the test." Fran said, walking over to his bookshelf and plucking the large book off of it and plopping down onto his bed. Chrome walked over and peeked at the cover. "Your test is on the French dictionary?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Fran blinked before he closed the book and placed it onto his stomach.

"I don't want to go." he admitted, leaning back into his pillow. "You can't make me go." Chrome sighed and looked at Fran. "Please, Fran, it's been a long time since you've seen everyone." she said with a worried expression. "You should go out more, y'know? Come with us and get some sun." "If you want me to get some sun I'll just go to the park or something." Fran said, making Chrome shake her head. "No, Fran, you need to interact with other people. You're always all by yourself." Fran groaned and rolled off the bed and onto the floor. "I don't want to go." he whined in his monotone voice before rolling underneath his bed.

Chrome huffed and looked underneath the bed to see Fran curled up in the corner, back towards her. "We don't have time for this, Fran, they're expecting us to be there at five and it's almost four thirty!" Chrome called, reaching underneath the bed to grab at Fran. Mukuro walked in to see Chrome halfway underneath Fran's bed. "He rolled underneath there again?" he asked, making Chrome retreat from under the bed. "Yes! He's so far under I can't get him, how does he still fit under there?" she replied. Mukuro looked at the bed. "Fran, come out." he ordered. "I don't want to." Fran said. Mukuro's lips formed a tight line. "Stop being difficult, Fran. It's only for today and you won't even have to spend it with everyone." Mukuro snapped. "We're simply meeting them before we go to the festival being held at Namimori Shrine, once we get there you can go take part in the celebration on your own."

Fran was silent before he rolled out from under the bed. "Fine, but you have to give me….5,000 Yen for spending money." Fran said, holding out a hand for the money. "Fine then." Mukuro agreed handing Fran a couple bills from his wallet. "Just spend it wisely." Fran got up and threw on a black hoodie and his favorite black boots. "Alright, let's just get this over with already." he said, walking out his room with Chrome and Mukuro following him out.

* * *

When they arrived at the Sawada residence it was five o' clock, they were right on time. Fran trudged behind Mukuro and Chrome up to the door as Chrome rang the doorbell. In a matter of seconds, the door was open, revealing Tsuna's mother, Nana. "Chrome-chan, Mukuro-kun, it's wonderful that you two could make it!" she said with a bright smile before noticing Fran standing behind them. Her eyes brightened as she gently pushed Mukuro and Chrome aside to grab Fran's hands. "My, my, you…..you're Fran-chan. Oh, this is _fantastic_!" she squealed, pulling Fran into a tight hug. "I haven't seen you for so long, how are you, dear? Are you eating well?" She inspected Fran's frame and face. "Hm, you look thin, I'll fix that later. Come in, come in, what are you standing out here for?"

Nana pulled Fran into the house with a giggling Chrome and chuckling Mukuro following them inside. "Everyone, Fran-chan's here." she said, pulling Fran into the living room. Everyone looked up and stared at the boy, making him slightly uncomfortable (though he didn't show it). Finally, Tsuna, looking a bit older than Fran remembered, stood up and welcomed Fran with a bright smile. "It's been a long time, Fran, I'm glad you came." he said softly. Yamamoto, looking even taller than before, beamed. "You're cuter than how I remember, it's good to have you back." he said, thumping Fran on the back gently (or at least for Yamamoto). Another boy, a silver haired boy named Gokudera Hayato, another one of Tsuna's best friends, simply nodded at Fran in acknowledgement.

Fran nodded back and took a seat on the couch. "Where's everyone else?" he asked, remembering that there were a few other members of Tsuna's group. "Onii-san and Hibari-san are studying for their exams that are coming soon so they can't make it, but Kyoko-chan and Haru should be here at any moment with Lambo and I-Pin." Tsuna explained, taking a seat beside Fran. "Uni's coming so she should be here soon too, and Fuuta's upstairs." Fran blinked before nodding numbly. Why did Tsuna say Uni was coming when it was so obvious she would? She was always with them, even though her father, Gamma, didn't want her to be surrounded by boys all the time.

The doorbell rang after a couple of minutes and Nana went out to answer it. "Oh, Uni-chan, you're here." Fran heard Nana say from his spot on the couch. He groaned inwardly and sat up. "Just wait in the living room with the others, I'll call Fuuta down." Fran wanted to throw up when he saw Uni, it was the first time he saw her since elementary school and she looked gorgeous. Her silky, dark green hair was longer than before, cascading in a ponytail down her back. Her eyes were as warm as ever glowing slightly in the light that brought out the blue coloring. Uni's clothes were simple, a white turtleneck sweater, a pink skirt, and white tennis shoes, but it didn't stop her from looking like a teen model.

'_Fucking genetics,_' Fran thought as he turned away. '_Why does she get to look like __**that**__ while I look like __**this**__?_' He tugged at his short, bright green hair and looked over his sloppily thrown on clothes. He was tempted to take off his glasses (he got his poor eyesight from his father) so that way he didn't have to look at himself. "Hello every…..Who's this?" Fran felt like he got stabbed, the girl didn't even remember him. "It's Fran, Uni." Tsuna explained. "Remember, you, Fuuta, and Fran were in the same class until he decided to go to Kokuyo for middle school?" Uni thought for a moment, cupping her cheek with her hand cutely, before gasping in realization. "Oh yes, you're the boy who always sat underneath the tree in the backyard while the rest of us played." she said smiling. Fran didn't know if she was purposefully being a closet bitch or if she was really as oblivious as she put on.

The doorbell rang once again and this time it was Kyoko (Sasagawa Kyoko, sister to 'Onii-san' or Sasagawa Ryohei), Haru (Miura Haru, Kyoko's best friend), Lambo (the youngest son of the Sawada family), and I-Pin (the youngest child in the Sawada family, the only daughter). "Sorry we're late but Lambo was having….problems at school." Kyoko apologized. Tsuna raised an eyebrow. "Problems?" he asked before turning to Lambo. "Is there something you want to tell me, Lambo?" Lambo looked around nervously, not wanting to speak up. "Tsuna-san's only trying to help, Lambo-chan." Uni said with genuine concern. Lambo looked at her before looking at the ground. "No, Lambo-sama doesn't want to talk about it." he muttered. "I just want to go." Tsuna and the others looked at each other before giving a hesitant 'alright'.

When they called Fuuta down, Fran braced himself. '_Just ignore me._' he begged in the privacy of his mind. Fuuta ran down, dressed and ready, and stopped at the foot of the stairs. "Is that…?" he asked, pointing at Fran. '_Fuck my life._' Fran thought. Thankfully, Mukuro decided to have pity on Fran and patted his head. "My adorable little brother? Why yes, it is." he said smirking at Fuuta. Fuuta was silent for a moment, glaring at the two before he scoffed and walked past them. "What are we waiting for?" he asked testily. "Are we going or what?" The others followed after him quickly, leaving Mukuro and Fran standing there. "Thanks, I guess." Fran said, making Mukuro chuckle. "I remember when I was your age I wished for someone as wonder as me to save me in predicament like that." Mukuro said wistfully. "But don't get used to it; I may not help you next time."

* * *

The second they got to the festival, Fran distanced himself from the group until he was completely separated from them. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked around. Fran wasn't particularly interested in anything he's seen so far, but he supposed he'd find something to entertain himself as he waited for the night to end. "What should I do?" he asked himself aloud, crossing his arms over his chest. "You should buy Lambo-sama some candy." Fran whipped around to see Lambo standing behind him in all his nine-year-old glory. "What are you doing here?" Fran asked, though actually wasn't that curious. "Lambo-sama didn't want to go with everyone else so he followed you." Lambo explained before breaking into obnoxious laughter. He was laughing so loudly that he almost didn't know Fran walking away.

"O-Oi, don't ignore Lambo-sama!" he shouted, running after Fran. Fran stayed silent as he walked down the path, looking through the booths. "There has to be something I can do here." he muttered, irritating Lambo. "I told you not to ignore me!" Lambo shouted once more, pouting slightly. Fran glanced in his direction and sighed. He motioned for Lambo to follow him and walked up the stairs to the actual shrine. Fran plopped down on the stairs and had Lambo sit beside him. "What do you want, kid?" he asked, leaning on the steps. Lambo looked at him and opened his mouth. "And don't say candy because I know that's not it." Lambo shut his mouth again and stared down at the bright lights of the lanterns. He was so silent it almost scared Fran, the boy was never silent.

"I wish I wasn't so stupid." Lambo said finally, curling into a small ball. Fran glanced at the boy, wonder what he was talking about. "You know the 'problems' I was having that Kyoko-nee mentioned? I'm failing in all classes." '_Failing?_' Fran thought in disbelief. It was to his understanding that Lambo was relatively a straight 'A' student. "You're a straight 'A' student." he said. Lambo rested his chin on his knees. "I was, but when I went into the third grade everything got harder." he explained. "There were too many new things; I couldn't keep up with it all." Fran straightened up slightly. "I'm sure Tsuna would like to talk to you about this, Fuuta too." he said, not wanting to deal with something that was none of his business.

"Tsuna-nii would just tell me that if he could pull up his grades I could too." Lambo said with a sigh. "He's nice and I love him, but he just doesn't know how to deal with the problems of others. Fuuta would just tell me to try harder." "And what about Uni?" Fran asked. "I….I can't talk to her. Not about this or any other problem." Lambo admitted. "Her life is just golden. She has a perfect, loving family and good grades since she started school. She has naturally awesome athletic skills, perfect etiquette skill, beauty…She has it all. I don't think she's ever had a problem or worry. She wouldn't understand what I'm going through or what any normal person has to go through every day of their lives."

"You're perspective of her is quite different from the others'."

"That just means it's the same as yours."

"Figured it out already? Are you sure you're failing?"

"It's only book smarts I have a problem with; I'm actually good at analyzing people."

"You have a talent then, use it well and you can go pretty far in life."

"You say that and yet you don't take your own advice."

"Shut up, I don't care if you're a kid, I'll make you cry if you give me more lip."

"That's exactly why I picked you to have this conversation with."

"Because I'm not afraid to make a kid cry?"

"You don't care that I'm a kid. You're honest with me and speak your mind."

They didn't speak for a while after that. Quiet noise surrounded them, the sounds from the festival, the chirp of the crickets, and the sound of their own breathing. The silence wasn't uncomfortable but it wasn't cozy or relaxed. It was like when you take a test in class, the room's quiet and you don't really mind since that's just how it's supposed to be for the time being. "I'll tutor you." Fran said suddenly, breaking the silence. Lambo looked up, eyes widened in surprise. "You will?" he asked in disbelief. Fran bit his lip and thought for a moment. "You aren't an idiot." he said slowly. "You speak well and can comprehend what others are saying as well. It would be relatively easy for me to teach you, besides, I don't think I'll find anyone else that thinks the same as I do." "Ah, so you're saying you're only tutoring me because it would be easy and you would benefit from it?" Lambo asked. "If your friendship can be counted as such then the answer is yes." Fran said, looking at Lambo, who smiled.

Then and there, Fran made a pact with Sawada Lambo, nine-year-old cow fanatic and Namimori's number one crybaby. Sawada Lambo, the actually perceptive child that was more than meets the eye. Sawada Lambo, now sworn brother and friend to Rokudo Fran.

* * *

"You're going to Japan?" the man asked, looking at the two girls curiously. "Yes, that's where you said they were." one girl said. "You didn't lie to us, did you?" The man shook his head. "No, no, they're definitely there, but why did you decide to go now? You've been gone for so long." the man said, making the girl laugh. "Do you have the right to say that after what you've done to them?" she asked, making the man chuckle bitterly. "No, I suppose I don't." he admitted before tossing a manila folder at the second girl. "Their address is in there as well as the schedules for planes to Japan. Unfortunately, all the flights this month are booked, seems like you'll have to wait and keep me company." he said, making the first girl gag.

The man chuckled again before his expression turned serious. "When you get there, take care of them. No matter what I did, I still love them." The girls looked at each other before nodding. "That's why we're going anyways, you don't need to tell us." the second girl said before they turned and walked out the door. The man sighed and picked up a picture frame on his desk. There he was, though he was younger and happier, with his six children. He remembered when they took the picture, mostly because it was right after the birth of his last child and right before the death of his wife. His oldest child, his first daughter, was standing on a wooden swing attached to a large oak tree. She was smiling, red hair vibrantly glowing in the light patches that streamed through the leaves of the tree. His second older, his first son, was leaning on the tree, looking down at him with his heterochromic eyes (a mutation that ran in his mother's family), a gentle smile on his face.

His third child, his second son, was holding onto one of the swings ropes, peeking out from behind his sister shyly, his beanie placed crookedly on his head. His fourth, another son, was sitting on one of the tree's branches, looking down at his father with a bright smile on his face, showing his sharp, canine-like teeth. His fifth, his second and last daughter, was sitting beside him. Her gaze was directed at his arms, a small smile apparent on her face. His sixth, his fourth and last son as well as his youngest child, lay in his arms, bundled in pure white blankets that. He was sleeping soundly with his father brushing his bright green hair out of his face.

The man sighed heavily and placed the picture back on his desk before opening a drawer and pulling out a bottle of Scotch. He didn't like drinking (it killed the brain cells he prided himself in) but, at times like these, when he was overwhelmed by melancholy and when he remembered his children whose memory haunted, he decided it was alright to take a sip of poison. He didn't have a cup but he didn't need it anyways, he drank straight from the bottle. After downing about half the bottle, he leaned back in his seat and looked out the window. "Maybe, someday, I'll be able to see you all again." he said.

* * *

Me: Well, this is the start of my new story. I added some Lambo and Fran friendship since they seem like unlikely friends and I like that. I also sort of made Uni the bad guy in this. Don't get me wrong, my feelings towards Canon Uni is completely neutral hold for the fact I believe she's too perfect. If she had some 'faults' (a cussing problem, freckles (though I adore freckles), glasses (though I _have _glasses and think they're sexy on a boy), etc.) then she would be more charming in my eyes. The reason I love Fran so much is because he's a fucking douchebag, bastard that speaks the harsh truth. Anyways, review, guys, and tell me what you think. By the way, I'm planning on updating Family Frenzy, Reborn soon, maybe on Sunday.


End file.
